Hypothetical Moral Question

[Et_Cetera]

I am somewhat of an insomniac, so I often ponder strange hypothetical questions while sleep eludes me. Here is the scenario: A young female graduate student finds that she is pregnant. She is extremely unhappy about the news. In fact, after a week she becomes depressed. The girl would like to have an abortion, but she is too afraid of afterlife repercussions. Her boyfriend sees her sadness and wishes to help. (Assume for the sake of the argument that he comes up with a pill that can cause her to have an abortion. Even if this is unrealistic, we’re being hypothetical. You could replace the pill with something else that could cause one to have an abortion.)

He gives her the pill without her consent, knowing that she wants an abortion but is too afraid. He does this out of love for her and also believes that he will have negative post-life repercussions, as per the teachings of most branches of Christianity. According to Catholicism, he has committed a grave sin by causing an abortion, but he has also risked his “soul” out of love for another. So, was his act good, bad, and/or somewhere in-between? Also, please keep to the confines of the hypothetical situation. Don’t reply with something like “The girl couldn’t truly want the abortion.”

 

[baltobetsy]

Bad through and through. One may not perform an evil action (causing an abortion) so that good (increase of love) may come of it.

Risking one’s soul for love of another is the stuff of romantic novels. It has no place in real life.

Betsy

 

[Et_Cetera]

Are you talking about the novels that grace that the check out line of Wal*Mart? If so, I steer clear of that stuff.

 

[tjm190]

This reminds me of the story of the murder of Thomas Beckett- I’d say still immoral. And immoral act committed ‘out of love’ is no less immoral.

 

[Monica4316]

it was still evil because the first Commandment is to love the Lord our God with all our hearts. We cannot do sin to “help” another person… it is not real help and it is still sin.

Risking ones soul for another person is like saying to God - “I love that person more than I love You.” But Jesus told us to put God first. Only then, can we truly love our neighbour, because real love comes from God and from our relationship with Him.

 

[kimmielittle]

“The road to hell…is paved with good intentions”, it is said.

He was playing God…bad sin

 

[Willy_Jose]

There is no “in-between” sin. Only mortal (grave) and venial. Deliberate abortion (or direct participation in one) is always mortal, irrespective of circumstances. Case closed.
Try another more complicated plot, one with environment issues

 

[prodigalson12]

It’s actually written in scripture itself, the passage eludes me at the moment for reference, but clearly it states that no evil act is justified for a righteous result. ie. the end does not justify the means.

 

[vera_dicere]

There are cases like this, well, not exactly like this, but cases where people have drugged their girlfriends and women who they got pregnant to try and make them miscarry.

Anyway, if the woman doesn’t have an abortion because she’s affraid of the afterlife she’ll have then that’s good, and chances are, with time, she’ll move past her depression either due to it being orginally caused by teh stress and shock of an unplanned pregnancy and the hormones involved, or she’ll get proper maternal mental health intervention. If the boyfriend/father of the baby truly loved her, he’d get her REAL help, not try to drug her. Anything could have gone wrong, what if he accidently overdosed her? What if she was allergic to the medication? He could end up killing both the mother and the child.

The boyfriend’s actions are evil. No ifs, buts or maybes, his actions are not out of love, but out of selfishness or at the very least stupidity and ignorance of real care and love.